The Psychology of Singing by David C Taylor

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Title: The Psychology of Singing

A Rational Method of Voice Culture Based on a Scientific Analysis of All Systems, Ancient and

Modern

Author: David C. Taylor

Release Date: June 28, 2007 [eBook #21957]

Language: English

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THE

PSYCHOLOGY OF SINGING

A Rational Method of Voice Culture

based on a Scientific Analysis of
all Systems, Ancient and Modern

By

David C. Taylor

New York

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

1922

NEW YORK—BOSTON—CHICAGO—ATLANTA—SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., Limited

LONDON—BOMBAY—CALCUTTA—MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.

TORONTO

All rights reserved
Copyright, 1908,

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1908.

Norwood Press:

Berwick & Smith Co., Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

To My Mother

whose devotion to truth and earnest
labor has prompted all my efforts
this work is affectionately dedicated

Preface
Contents

Bibliography

Index
Notes

PREFACE

A peculiar gap exists between the accepted theoretical basis of instruction in singing and the actual

methods of vocal teachers. Judging by the number of scientific treatises on the voice, the academic
observer would be led to believe that a coherent Science of Voice Culture has been evolved.
Modern methods of instruction in singing are presumed to embody a system of exact and infallible
rules for the management of the voice. Teachers of singing in all the musical centers of Europe and
America claim to follow a definite plan in the training of voices, based on established scientific
principles. But a practical acquaintance with the modern art of Voice Culture reveals the fact that
the laws of tone-production deduced from the scientific investigation of the voice do not furnish a
satisfactory basis for a method of training voices.

Throughout the entire vocal profession, among singers, teachers, and students alike, there is a

general feeling of the insufficiency of present knowledge of the voice. The problem of the correct
management of the vocal organs has not been finally and definitely solved. Voice Culture has not
been reduced to an exact science. Vocal teachers are not in possession of an infallible method of
training voices. Students of singing find great difficulty in learning how to use their voices. Voice
Culture is generally recognized as entitled to a position among the exact sciences; but something
remains to be done before it can assume that position.

There must be some definite reason for the failure of theoretical investigation to produce a

satisfactory Science of Voice Culture. This cannot be due to any present lack of understanding of
the vocal mechanism on the part of scientific students of the subject. The anatomy and physiology
of the vocal organs have been exhaustively studied by a vast number of highly trained experts. So
far as the muscular operations of tone-production are concerned, and the laws of acoustics bearing
on the vocal action, no new discovery can well be expected. But in this very fact, the exhaustive
attention paid to the mechanical operations of the voice, is seen the incompleteness of Vocal
Science. Attention has been turned exclusively to the mechanical features of tone-production, and
in consequence many important facts bearing on the voice have been overlooked.

In spite of the general acceptance of the doctrines of Vocal Science, tone-production has not

really been studied from the purely scientific standpoint. The use of the word "science"

presupposes the careful observation and study of all facts and phenomena bearing in any way on
the subject investigated. Viewed in this light, the scientific study of the voice is at once seen to be
incomplete. True, the use of the voice is a muscular operation, and a knowledge of the muscular
structure of the vocal organs is necessary to an understanding of the voice. But this knowledge
alone is not sufficient. Like every other voluntary muscular operation, tone-production is subject to
the psychological laws of control and guidance. Psychology is therefore of equal importance with
anatomy and acoustics as an element of Vocal Science.

There is also another line along which all previous investigation of the voice is singularly

incomplete. An immense fund of information about the vocal action is obtained by attentive
listening to voices, and in no other way. Yet this important element in Vocal Science is almost
completely neglected.

In order to arrive at an assured basis for the art of Voice Culture, it is necessary in the first place

to apply the strictest rules of scientific investigation to the study of the voice. A definite plan must
be adopted, to include every available source information. First, the insight into the operations of
the voice, obtained by listening to voices, must be reviewed and analyzed. Second, the sciences of
anatomy, mechanics, acoustics, and psychology must each contribute its share to the general fund
of information. Third, from all the facts thus brought together the general laws of vocal control and
management must be deduced.

Before undertaking this exhaustive analysis of the vocal action it is advisable to review in detail

every method of instruction in singing now in vogue. This may seem a very difficult task. To the
casual observer conditions in the vocal world appear truly chaotic. Almost every prominent teacher
believes himself to possess a method peculiarly his own; it would not be easy to find two masters
who agree on every point, practical as well as theoretical. But this confusion of methods is only on
the surface. All teachers draw the materials of their methods from the same sources. An outline of
the history of Voice Culture, including the rise of the old Italian school and the development of
Vocal Science, will render the present situation in the vocal profession sufficiently clear.

Part I of this work contains a review of modern methods. In Part II a critical analysis is offered

of certain theories of the vocal action which receive much attention in practical instruction. Several
of the accepted doctrines of Vocal Science, notably those of breath-control, chest and nasal
resonance, and forward placing of the tone, are found on examination to contain serious fallacies.
More important even than the specific errors involved in these doctrines, the basic principle of
modern Voice Culture is also found to be false. All methods are based on the theory that the voice
requires to be directly and consciously managed in the performance of its muscular operations.
When tested by the psychological laws of muscular guidance, this theory of mechanical tone-
production is found to be a complete error.

Part III contains a summary of all present knowledge of the voice. First, the insight into the

singer's vocal operations is considered, which the hearer obtains by attentive listening to the tones
produced. This empirical knowledge, as it is generally called, indicates a state of unnecessary throat
tension as the cause, or at any rate the accompaniment, of every faulty tone. Further, an outline is
given of all scientific knowledge of the voice. The anatomy of the vocal organs, and the acoustic
and mechanical principles of the vocal action, are briefly described. Finally, the psychological laws
of tone-production are considered. It is seen that under normal conditions the voice instinctively
obeys the commands of the ear.

In Part IV the information about the vocal action obtained from the two sources is combined,—

the scientific knowledge of mechanical processes, and the empirical knowledge derived from
attentive listening to voices. Throat stiffness is then seen to be the one influence which can interfere
with the instinctively correct action of the voice. The most important cause of throat stiffness is
found in the attempt consciously to manage the mechanical operations of the voice. In place of the
erroneous principles of mechanical instruction, imitation is seen to be the rational foundation of a
method of Voice Culture. The mystery surrounding the old Italian method is dispelled so soon as
the possibility is recognized of teaching singing by imitation. Practical rules are outlined for
imparting and acquiring the correct use of the voice, through the guidance of the sense of hearing.
The singer's education is considered in its broadest sense, and training in tone-production is
assigned to its proper place in the complex scheme of Voice Culture.

During the past twenty years the author has found opportunity to hear most of the famous singers

who have visited America, as well as a host of artists of somewhat lesser fame. In his early student
days the conviction grew that the voice cannot reach its fullest development when mechanically
used. Siegfried does not forge his sword, and at the same time think of his diaphragm or soft palate.

Lucia cannot attend to the movements of her arytenoid cartilages while pouring out the trills and
runs of her Mad Scene. A study of the theoretical works on Vocal Science, dealing always with
mechanical action and never with tone, served only to strengthen this conviction. Finally the laws of
physiological psychology were found to confirm this early belief.

Every obtainable work on Voice Culture has been included in the author's reading. No desire

must be understood to make a display of the results of this study. One citation from a recognized
authority, or in some cases two or three, is held sufficient to verify each statement regarding the
accepted doctrines of Vocal Science. As for the practical features of modern methods, the facts
alleged cannot in every case be substantiated by references to published works. It is, however,
believed that the reader's acquaintance with the subject will bear out the author's statements.

This work is of necessity academic in conception and in substance. Its only purpose is to

demonstrate the falsity of the idea of mechanical vocal management, and to prove the scientific
soundness of instruction by imitation. There is no possibility of a practical manual of instruction in
singing being accepted, based on the training of the ear and the musical education of the singer,
until the vocal world has been convinced of the error of the mechanical idea. When that has been
accomplished this work will have served its purpose. All of the controversial materials, together
with much of the theoretical subject matter, will then be superfluous. A concise practical treatise
can then be offered, containing all that the vocal teacher and the student of singing need to know
about the training and management of the voice.

It is in great measure due to the coöperation of my dear friend, Charles Leonard-Stuart, that my

theory of voice production is brought into literary form, and presented in this book. To his thorough
musicianship, his skill and experience as a writer of English, and especially to his mastery of the
bookman's art, I am deeply indebted. True as I know Leonard-Stuart's love to be for the art of
pure singing, I yet prefer to ascribe his unselfish interest in this work to his friendship for the
author.

CONTENTS

PART I

Modern Methods of Instruction in Singing

PAGE

CHAPTER I

Tone-Production and Voice Culture
3

CHAPTER II

Breathing and Breath-Control
20

CHAPTER III

Registers and Laryngeal Action
34

CHAPTER IV

Resonance
54

CHAPTER V

Empirical Materials of Modern Methods
67

CHAPTER VI

A General View of Modern Voice Culture
92

PART II

A Critical Analysis of Modern Methods

CHAPTER I

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Mechanical Vocal Management as the Basis of Voice Culture
109

CHAPTER II

The Fallacy of the Doctrine of Breath-Control
117

CHAPTER III

The Fallacies of Forward Emission, Chest Resonance, and Nasal Resonance
125

CHAPTER IV

The Futility of the Materials of Modern Methods
130

CHAPTER V

The Error of the Theory of Mechanical Vocal Management
135

PART III

The Basis of a Real Science of Voice

CHAPTER I

The Means of Empirical Observation of the Voice
151

CHAPTER II

Sympathetic Sensations of Vocal Tone
162

CHAPTER III

Empirical Knowledge of the Voice
176

CHAPTER IV

The Empirical Precepts of the Old Italian School
186

CHAPTER V

Empirical Knowledge in Modern Voice Culture
198

CHAPTER VI

Scientific Knowledge of the Voice
210

PART IV

Vocal Science and Practical Voice Culture

CHAPTER I

The Correct Vocal Action
237

CHAPTER II

The Causes of Throat Stiffness and of Incorrect Vocal Action
247

CHAPTER III

Throat Stiffness and Incorrect Singing
262

CHAPTER IV

The True Meaning of Vocal Training
275

CHAPTER V

Imitation the Rational Basis of Voice Culture
291

CHAPTER VI

The Old Italian Method
304

CHAPTER VII

The Disappearance of the Old Italian Method and the Development of Mechanical
Instruction
320

CHAPTER VIII

The Materials of Rational Instruction in Singing
341

CHAPTER IX

Outlines of a Practical Method of Voice Culture
361

Bibliography
369

Index

CHAPTER I

TONE-PRODUCTION AND VOICE CULTURE

In no other form of expression do art and nature seem so closely identified as in the art of

singing. A perfect voice speaks so directly to the soul of the hearer that all appearance of artfully
prepared effect is absent. Every tone sung by a consummate vocal artist seems to be poured forth
freely and spontaneously. There is no evidence of calculation, of carefully directed effort, of
attention to the workings of the voice, in the tones of a perfect singer. Yet if the accepted idea of
Voice Culture is correct, this semblance of spontaneity in the use of the voice can result only from
careful and incessant attention to mechanical rules. That the voice must be managed or handled in
some way neither spontaneous nor instinctive, is the settled conviction of almost every authority on
the subject. All authorities believe also that this manner of handling the voice must be acquired by
every student of singing, in the course of carefully directed study.

This training in the use of the voice is the most important feature of education in singing. Voice

Culture embraces a peculiar and distinct problem, that of the correct management of the vocal
organs. Vocal training has indeed come to be considered synonymous with training in the correct
use of the voice. Every method of instruction in singing must contain as its most important element
some means for dealing with the problem of tone-production.

No complete and satisfactory solution of this problem has ever been found. Of this fact every one

acquainted with the practical side of Voice Culture must be well aware. As the present work is
designed solely to suggest a new manner of dealing with this question, it is advisable to define
precisely what is meant by the problem of tone-production.

In theory the question may be stated very simply. It is generally believed throughout the vocal

profession that the voice has one correct mode of action, different from a wide variety of incorrect
actions of which it is capable;—that this mode of action, though ordained by Nature, is not in the
usual sense natural or instinctive;—that the correct vocal action must be acquired, through a
definite understanding and conscious management of the muscular movements involved. The
theoretical problem therefore is: What is the correct vocal action, and how can it be acquired?

On the practical side, the nature of the problem is by no means so simple. In actual instruction in

singing, the subject of vocal management cannot readily be dissociated from the wide range of
other topics comprised in the singer's education. In much that pertains to the art of music, the
singer's training must include the same subjects that form the training of every musician. In addition
to this general musical training, about the same for all students of music, each student must acquire
technical command of the chosen instrument. This is necessarily acquired by practice on the
instrument, whether it be piano, violin, oboe, or whatever else. In the same way, vocal technique is
acquired by practice in actual singing. Practice makes perfect, with the voice as with everything
else.

But the voice is not invariably subject to the law that practice makes perfect. In this important

respect the singer's education presents a problem not encountered by the student of any instrument.
Given the necessary talents, industry, and opportunities for study, the student of the violin may
count with certainty on acquiring the mastery of this instrument. But for the vocal student this is
not necessarily true. There are many cases in which practice in singing does not bring about

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technical perfection. The mere singing of technical exercises is not enough; it is of vital importance
that the exercises be sung in some particular manner. There is one certain way in which the voice
must be handled during the practice of singing. If the vocal organs are exercised in this particular
manner, the voice will improve steadily as the result of practice. This progress will continue until
perfect technical command of the voice is acquired. But if the vocal student fails to hit upon this
particular way of handling the voice in practice the voice will improve little, or not at all. In such a
case perfect vocal technique will never be acquired, no matter how many years the practice may
continue.

What is this peculiar way in which the voice must be handled during the practice of singing? This

is the practical problem of tone-production, as it confronts the student of singing.

It is important that the exact bearing of the problem be clearly understood. It is purely a feature of

education in singing, and concerns only teachers and students of the art. Properly speaking, the
finished singer should leave the teacher and start on the artistic career, equipped with a voice under
perfect control. There should be no problem of tone-production for the trained singer, no thought
or worry about the vocal action. True, many authorities on the voice maintain that the artist must,
in all singing, consciously and intelligently guide the operations of the vocal organs. But even if this
be the case the fact remains that this ability to manage the voice must be acquired during student
days. In seeking a solution of the problem, that period in the prospective singer's training must be
considered during which the proper use of the voice is learned.

It may be taken for granted that teachers of singing have always been aware of the existence of

the problem of tone-production, and have always instructed their pupils in the correct management
of the voice. Yet it is only within the past hundred and fifty years that vocal management has been
the subject of special study. A brief review of the history of Voice Culture will serve to bring this
fact out clearly.

To begin with, the present art of singing is of comparatively recent origin. It is indeed probable

that man had been using the voice in something akin to song for thousands of years before the
dawn of history. Song of some kind has always played an important part in human life, savage as
well as civilized. To express our emotions and feelings by means of the voice is one of our most
deep-seated instincts. For this use of the voice to take on the character of melody, as distinguished
from ordinary speech, is also purely instinctive. Singing was one of the most zealously cultivated
arts in early Egypt, in ancient Israel, and in classic Greece and Rome. Throughout all the centuries
of European history singing has always had its recognized place, both in the services of the various
churches and in the daily life of the people.

But solo singing, as we know it to-day, is a comparatively modern art. Not until the closing

decades of the sixteenth century did the art of solo singing receive much attention, and it is to that
period we must look for the beginnings of Voice Culture. It is true that the voice was cultivated,
both for speech and song, among the Greeks and Romans. Gordon Holmes, in his Treatise on
Vocal Physiology and Hygiene (London, 1879), gives an interesting account of these ancient
systems of Voice Culture. But practically nothing has come down to us about the means then used
for training the voice. Even if any defined methods were developed, it is absolutely certain that
these had no influence on the modern art of Voice Culture.

With the birth of Italian opera, in 1600, a new art of singing also came into existence. The two

arts, opera and singing, developed side by side, each dependent on the other. And most important
to the present inquiry, the art or science of training voices also came into being. In Le Revoluzioni
del Teatro Musicale Italiano (Venice, 1785), Arteaga says of the development of opera: "But
nothing contributed so much to clarify Italian music at that time as the excellence and the
abundance of the singers." A race of singing masters seems almost to have sprung up in Italy.
These illustrious masters taught the singers to produce effects with their voices such as had never
been heard of before. From 1600 to 1750 the progress of the art of singing was uninterrupted. Each
great teacher carried the art a little further, discovering new beauties and powers in the voice, and
finding means to impart his new knowledge to his pupils.

This race of teachers is known to-day as the Old Italian School, and their system of instruction is

called the Old Italian Method. Just what this method consisted of is a much-discussed question.
Whatever its system of instruction, the old Italian school seems to have suffered a gradual decline.
In 1800 it was distinctly on the wane; it was entirely superseded, during the years from 1840 to
1865, by the modern scientific methods.

Considered as a practical system of Voice Culture, the old Italian method is a highly mysterious

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subject. Little is now known about the means used for training students of singing in the correct use
of the voice. This much is fairly certain: the old masters paid little or no attention to what are now
considered scientific principles. They taught in what modern vocal theorists consider a rather
haphazard fashion. The term "empirical" is often applied to their method, and to the knowledge of
the voice on which it was based.[1] But as to what the old masters actually knew about the voice,
and just how they taught their pupils to sing, on these points the modern world is in almost
complete ignorance. Many attempts have been made in recent years to reconstruct the old Italian
method in the light of modern scientific knowledge of the voice. But no such analysis of the
empirical system has ever been convincing.

How the practical method of the old masters came to be forgotten is perhaps the most mysterious

feature of this puzzling system. There has been a lineal succession of teachers of singing, from the
earlier decades of the eighteenth century down to the present. Even to-day it is almost unheard of
that any one should presume to call himself a teacher of singing without having studied with at least
one recognized master. Each master of the old school imparted his knowledge and his practical
method to his pupils. Those of his pupils who in their turn became teachers passed the method on
to their students, and so on, in many unbroken successions. Yet, for some mysterious reason, the
substance of the old method was lost in transmission.

What little is now known about the old method is derived from two sources, the written record

and tradition. To write books in explanation of their system of instruction does not seem to have
occurred to the earliest exponents of the art of Voice Culture. The first published work on the
subject was that of Pietro Francesco Tosi, Osservazione sopra il Canto figurato, brought out in
Bologna in 1723. This was translated into English by M. Galliard, and published in London in 1742;
a German translation by J. F. Agricola was issued in 1757. The present work will call for several
citations from Tosi, all taken from the English edition. Only one other prominent teacher of the old
school, G. B. Mancini, has left an apparently complete record of his method. His Riflessioni
pratiche sul Canto figurato was published in Milan in 1776. Mancini's book has never been
translated into English. Reference will therefore be made to the third Italian edition, brought out in
Milan, 1777.

Tosi and Mancini undoubtedly intended to give complete accounts of the methods of instruction

in singing in vogue in their day. But modern vocal theorists generally believe that the most
important materials of instruction were for some reason not mentioned. Three registers are
mentioned by Tosi, while Mancini speaks of only two. Both touch on the necessity of equalizing
the registers, but give no specific directions for this purpose. About all these early writers have left
us, in the opinion of most modern students of their works, is the outline of an elaborate system of
vocal ornaments and embellishments.

On the side of tradition a slightly more coherent set of rules has come down to us from the old

masters. These are generally known as the "traditional precepts." Just when the precepts were first
formulated it is impossible to say. Tosi and Mancini do not mention them. Perhaps they were held
by the old masters as a sort of esoteric mystery; this idea is occasionally put forward. At any rate,
by the time the traditional precepts were given to the world in published works on the voice, their
valuable meaning had been completely lost.

Gathered from all available sources, the traditional precepts are as follows:

"Sing on the breath."

"Open the throat."

"Sing the tone forward," or "at the lips."

"Support the tone."

To the layman these precepts are so vague as to be almost unintelligible. But modern vocal

teachers are convinced that the precepts sum up the most important means used by the old masters
for imparting the correct vocal action. An interpretation of the precepts in terms intelligible to the
modern student would therefore be extremely valuable. Many scientific investigators of the voice
have sought earnestly to discover the sense in which the precepts were applied by the old masters.
These explanations of the traditional precepts occupy a very important position in most modern
methods of instruction.

There can be no question that the old masters were highly successful teachers of singing. Even

leaving out of consideration the vocal achievements of the castrati, the singers of Tosi's day must

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have been able to perform music of the florid style in a masterly fashion. This is plainly seen from a
study of the scores of the operas popular at that time. Empirical methods of instruction seem to
have sufficed for the earlier masters. Not until the old method had been in existence for nearly one
hundred and fifty years does an attempt seem to have been made to study the voice scientifically.
In 1741 a famous French physician, Ferrein, published a treatise on the vocal organs. This was the
first scientific work to influence the practices of vocal teachers.

For many years after the publication of Ferrein's treatise, the scientific study of the voice

attracted very little attention from the singing masters. Fully sixty years elapsed before any serious
attempt was made to base a method of instruction on scientific principles. Even then the idea of
scientific instruction in singing gained ground very slowly. Practical teachers at first paid but little
attention to the subject. Interest in the mechanics of voice production was confined almost entirely
to the scientists.

In the early decades of the nineteenth century the mechanical features of voice production seem

to have appealed to a constantly wider circle of scientists. Lickovius (1814), Malgaine (1831),
Bennati (1830), Bell (1832), Savart (1825), brought out works on the subject. It remained,
however, for a vocal teacher, Garcia, to conceive the idea of basing practical instruction on
scientific knowledge.

Manuel Garcia (1805-1906) may justly be regarded as the founder of Vocal Science. His father,

Manuel del Popolo Viscenti, was famous as singer, impresario, and teacher. From him Garcia
inherited the old method, it is safe to assume, in its entirety. But for Garcia's remarkable mind the
empirical methods of the old school were unsatisfactory. He desired definite knowledge of the
voice. A clear idea seems to have been in his mind that, with full understanding of the vocal
mechanism and of its correct mode of action, voices would be more readily and surely trained.
How strongly this idea had possession of Garcia is shown by the fact that he began the study of the
vocal action in 1832, and that he invented the laryngoscope only in 1855.

It must not be understood that Garcia was the first teacher to attempt to formulate a systematic

scheme of instruction in singing. In the works of Mannstein (1834) and of Marx (1823) an
ambitious forward movement on the part of many prominent teachers is strongly indicated. But
Garcia was the first teacher to apply scientific principles in dealing with the specific problem of
tone-production. He conceived the idea that a scientific knowledge of the workings of the vocal
organs might be made the basis of a practical system or method of instruction in singing. This idea
of Garcia has been the basic principle of all practical methods, ever since the publication of the
results of his first laryngoscopic investigations in 1855.

Before attempting to suggest a new means of dealing with the problem of vocal management, it is

well to ascertain how this problem is treated in modern methods of instruction. It would not be easy
to overstate the importance assigned to the matter of tone-production in all modern systems of
Voice Culture. The scientific study of the voice has dealt exclusively with this subject. A new
science has resulted, commonly called "Vocal Science." This science is generally accepted as the
foundation of all instruction in singing. All modern methods are to some extent based on Vocal
Science.

To arrive at an understanding of modern methods, the two directions in which vocal theorists

have approached the scientific study of the voice must be borne in mind: First, by an investigation
of the anatomy of the vocal organs, and of the laws of acoustics and mechanics in accordance with
which they operate. Second, by an analysis of the traditional precepts of the old Italian school in the
light of this scientific knowledge.

As the present work demands a review of modern methods from the practical side only, it is not

necessary to include a description of the vocal organs. It will be sufficient to describe briefly the
manner in which scientific investigators of the voice treat the subject of the vocal organs.

The vocal mechanism consists of three portions,—the breathing apparatus, the larynx with its

appendages, and the resonance cavities. Vocal scientists apply their efforts to finding out the correct
mode of action of each portion of the mechanism, and to formulating rules and exercises by which
these correct actions can be acquired and combined for the production of perfect tones. The
analysis of the traditional precepts also conforms to this general plan; each precept is referred to
that portion of the vocal apparatus to which it seems best to apply. The outline of the principles of
modern methods contained in the following chapters follows this general scheme.

It must be understood at the start that on most of the doctrines included in Vocal Science there is

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no unanimity of opinion among either theorists or teachers. Far from this being the case, practically
all the principles of Vocal Science are the subjects of controversy.

CHAPTER II

BREATHING AND BREATH-CONTROL

It is generally considered that, as the breath is the foundation of singing, the manner of breathing

is of vital importance to the singer. This subject has therefore received a vast amount of attention
from vocal scientists, and the muscular actions of breathing have been exhaustively studied.

Several sets of rules for inspiration and expiration are put forth by different authorities. But there

is no occasion for going into a detailed discussion of the different modes of breathing advocated by
the various schools, or of the theoretical arguments which each advances. It is sufficient to say that
the modes of breathing most in vogue are five in number,—deep abdominal, lateral or costal, fixed
high chest, clavicular, and diaphragmatic-abdominal. However, on experimenting with these five
systems of breathing, it is found that the number may be reduced to two; of these the others are but
slight modifications. In one system of inspiration the abdomen is protruded, while the upper chest is
held firm, the greatest expansion being at the base of the lungs. In the other mode of taking breath
the abdomen is slightly drawn in, while the chest is expanded in every direction, upward, laterally,
forward, and backward. In this system the upper chest is held in a fixed and high position.

Necessarily the manner of filling the lungs involves the manner in which they are emptied.

Opinions are practically unanimous as to the proper position of the singer before taking breath, that
is, at the end of an expiration. The singer must stand erect, the weight of the body evenly supported
on the balls of both feet, with the whole body in a condition of lithe suppleness. In both systems of
breathing the manner of expiration is simply a return to this position.

A wide variety of breathing exercises are in use, but these do not require detailed description. Any

one of the prescribed systems of breathing can easily be adopted, and the student of singing seldom
encounters any difficulty on this point. Still most teachers attach great importance to the
acquirement of the correct manner of breathing. Toneless mechanical exercises are generally given,
by which the student is expected to master the muscular movements before applying in singing the
system advocated by the teacher. These exercises are usually combined with those for breath-
control, and they are described under that head.

Breath-Control

Very early in the development of Vocal Science the management of the breath began to receive

attention. Mannstein,[2] writing in 1834, says: "The air in expiration must stream from the chest
slowly and without shock. The air must flow from the chest with the tone." In a footnote he adds:
"In order to acquire this economy of the breath, students were required to practise daily, without
singing, to take and to hold back the breath as long as possible." Mannstein does not mention the
muscular action involved in this exercise.

This subject is also touched upon by Garcia. In the first edition of his École de Garcia, 1847,

Chap. IV, p. 14, he says: "The mechanism of expiration consists of a gentle pressure on the lungs
charged with air, operated by the thorax and the diaphragm. The shock of the chest, the sudden
falling of the ribs, and the quick relaxing of the diaphragm cause the air to escape instantly.... If,
while the lungs are filled with air, the ribs are allowed to fall, and the diaphragm to rise, the lungs
instantly give up the inspired air, like a pressed sponge. It is necessary therefore to allow the ribs to
fall and the diaphragm to relax only so much as is required to sustain the tones." It may be
questioned whether Garcia had in mind the doctrine of breath-control as this is understood to-day.
Very little attention was paid, at any rate, in the vocal instruction of that day, to the mechanical
actions of breath-control; the great majority of teachers probably had never heard of this principle.

As a definite principle of Vocal Science, breath-control was first formulated by Dr. Mandl, in his

Die Gesundheitslehre der Stimme, Brunswick, 1876. From that time on, this doctrine has been
very generally recognized as the fundamental principle of correct singing. Practically every scientific
writer on the voice since then states breath-control as one of the basic principles of Vocal Science.

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The most influential published work in popularizing the doctrine of breath-control was probably the
book written jointly by Lennox Browne and Emil Behnke, Voice, Song, and Speech, London,
1883.

This doctrine is of so much importance in Vocal Science and in modern methods of instruction as

to require a detailed explanation. The theory of breath-control may be stated as follows:[3]

"In ordinary breathing the air is expelled from the lungs quietly, but rapidly; at no point of the

breathing apparatus does the expired breath meet with resistance. In singing, on the contrary, the
expiratory pressure is much more powerful, yet the expiration must be much slower. Furthermore,
all the expired breath must be converted into tone, and the singer must have perfect control over
the strength and the speed of the expiration. This requires that the air be held back at some point.
The action of holding back the breath must not be performed by the muscles which close the
glottis, for all the muscles of the larynx are very small and weak in comparison with the powerful
muscles of expiration. The glottis-closing muscles are too weak to oppose their action to the force
of a powerful expiration. If the vocal cords are called upon to withstand a strong breath pressure,
they are seriously strained, and their proper action is rendered impossible. In the same way, if the
throat be narrowed at any point above the larynx, so as to present a passage small enough to hold
back a powerful expiration, the entire vocal mechanism is strained and forced out of its proper
adjustment. The singer must have perfect control of the breath, and at the same time relieve the
larynx and throat of all pressure and strain. To obtain this control the singer must govern the
expiration by means of the muscles of inspiration. When the lungs are filled the inspiratory muscles
are not to be relaxed as in ordinary breathing, but are to be held on tension throughout the action of
expiration. Whatever pressure is exerted by the expiratory muscles must be almost counterbalanced
by the opposed action of the muscles of inspiration. The more powerful the blast, the greater must
be the exertion by which it is controlled. In this way the singer may have perfect control both of the
speed and of the strength of the expiration."

The exercises for acquiring command of this "opposed action breath-control" are easily

understood; indeed, they will readily suggest themselves to one who has grasped their purpose.
Most important of these exercises is a quick inspiration, followed by a slow and controlled
expiration. Exercises for breathing and breath-control are usually combined; the student is instructed
to take breath in the manner advocated by the teacher, and then to control the expiration.

Teachers usually require their pupils to obtain command of this action as a toneless exercise

before permitting them to apply it to the production of tone. Methods vary greatly as to the length
of time devoted to toneless drills in breathing and breath-control. Many teachers demand that
students practise these exercises daily throughout the entire course of study, and even recommend
that this practice be continued throughout the singer's active life.

Simple as these exercises are in theory, they demand very arduous practice. Control of the breath

by "opposed action" is hard and tiring muscular work, as the reader may easily convince himself by
practising the above described exercise for a few minutes.

No special rules are needed for applying this mode of breathing to the production of tone.

Theoretical writers generally do not claim that the control of the breath brings about the correct
laryngeal action, but merely that it permits this action by noninterference. Several authorities
however, notably Shakespeare, maintain that in effect this system of breath-control embodies the
old precept, "Sing on the breath." (Wm. Shakespeare, The Art of Singing, London, 1898, p. 24.)
Other theorists hold that the empirical precept, "Support the tone," refers to this manner of
controlled expiration. (G. B. Lamperti, The Technics of Bel Canto, Trans. by Dr. Th. Baker, N.
Y., 1905, p. 9.)

The "Breath-band" System

While most authorities on the voice advocate the system of breath-control by "opposed muscular

action," there are a number of masters who teach an entirely different system. This is usually
known as the "Breath-band," or "Ventricular" breath-control. Charles Lunn, in The Philosophy of
the Voice, 1878, was the first to propound the theory that the breath may be controlled by the false
vocal cords. There is reason to believe that this idea was also worked out independently by Orlando
Steed ("On Beauty of Touch and Tone," Proceedings of the Musical Assn., 1879-80, p. 47). As a
number of prominent teachers base their entire methods on this theory, it is worthy of careful
attention. The "breath-band" theory may be stated as follows:

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"When the lungs are filled by a deep inspiration and the breath is held, the glottis is of necessity

closed so tightly that no air can escape. In this condition the expiratory muscles may be very
violently contracted, and still no air will escape; indeed, the greater the strength exerted the tighter is
the closure of the glottis. Obviously, this closure of the glottis cannot be effected by the contraction
of the glottis-closing muscles, strictly speaking, for these muscles are too small and weak to
withstand the powerful air pressure exerted against the vocal cords.[4] The point of resistance is
located just above the vocal cords. The sudden air pressure exerted on the interior walls of the
larynx by the expiratory contraction causes the ventricles of the larynx to expand by inflation. This
inflation of the ventricles brings their upper margins, formed by the false vocal cords, into contact.
Thus the opening from the larynx into the pharynx is closed. This closure is not effected by any
muscular contraction, therefore it is not dependent on the strength of the muscular fibers of the
false vocal cords. It is an automatic valvular action, directly under voluntary control so far as the
contraction of the expiratory muscles is concerned, but independent of volition as regards the action
of the false vocal cords. On account of their important function in this operation the false vocal
cords are called the 'breath-bands.' Closure of the glottis by the inflation of the ventricles imposes
no strain on the vocal cords.

"Control of the breath in singing is effected by this automatic valvular action. To produce a tone

according to this system, the lungs must be filled and the breath held in the manner just described,
while the vocal cords are brought to the proper degree of tension; then the tone is started by
allowing the 'breath-bands' to separate very slightly, so that a thin stream of air is forced through
the opening between their margins. The tone is ushered in by a slight explosive sound, which is
nothing but the well-known stroke of the glottis. So long as the expiratory pressure is steadily
maintained, this tone may be held, and yet no strain is imposed on the vocal cords. Perfect control
of the breath is thus attained. For a powerful tone, the breath blast is greater, therefore the
ventricles are more widely inflated, and the opening between the 'breath-bands' becomes narrower.
The action is always automatic; once the tone is correctly started, the singer need pay no further
attention to the operation of the 'breath-bands.' All that is necessary is to maintain a steady breath
pressure."

In the methods of all the "breath-band" advocates, the first and most important step toward

perfect tone-production is held to be the acquirement of this automatic breath-control. As in the
"opposed muscular" system, the initial exercises are toneless drills in breathing. The basic exercise,
of which all the others are variations, is as follows: "Fill the lungs, then hold the breath an instant,
and forcibly contract all the chest muscles. Then force the air out slowly and powerfully through
the glottis." Practice of this exercise is always accompanied by a hissing sound, caused by the
escape of the air through the narrow slit between (presumably) the "breath-bands." Tone-
production by the same muscular action is very simple, and requires no further explanation.

In its practical aspect this system of breath-control is the direct opposite of the "opposed

muscular" system. In one the breath is expelled powerfully, the object being to bring a strong
expiratory pressure to bear on the larynx. In the other system, the air is held back, in order that the
larynx be exposed to as slight a pressure as possible.

The "breath-band" advocates hold that the glottic stroke is the key to correct laryngeal action. As

a rule they instruct their pupils to attack every tone, throughout all their practising, with the stroke
of the glottis. In the course of time the automatic valvular action is supposed to become so well
established that the singer can dispense with the glottic stroke in public performance. Needless to
say, these teachers usually recognize that this explosive sound is very harsh and unmusical, and
utterly out of place in artistic singing.

An important claim of the "breath-band" teachers is that their doctrine contains the explanation of

the traditional precept, "Support the tone." Their idea is that the throat, being "firmly set," furnishes
a secure base for the tone to rest on. This explanation is of course utterly unscientific, and it cannot
be said to throw any light on the meaning of the precept. "Singing on the breath" is also referred to
this system of breath-control, but with no more coherence than the "Support of the tone."

No necessary connection obtains between systems of breath-control and those of breathing

strictly speaking, that is, of inspiration. As has been said, the great majority of vocal theorists
adhere to the "opposed muscular action" breath-control. In this number are included advocates of
every known system of breathing. Bitter controversies have been carried on between champions of
different modes of breathing, who yet agree that the breath must be controlled by "opposed action."
This is also true, although not to the same extent, among the "breath-band" teachers. And to render
the confusion on the subject of breathing and breath-control complete, instances might be cited of

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controversies between teachers who agree as to the correct mode of inspiration, and yet disagree on
the manner of controlling the expiration.

Both systems of breath-control cannot be right; if one is correct, the other must necessarily be

absolutely wrong. Instead of attempting to decide between them, it will be seen that both are false,
and that the theory on which they rest is erroneous. This discussion is reserved for a later chapter.

CHAPTER III

REGISTERS AND LARYNGEAL ACTION

Probably no other topic of Vocal Science has been studied so earnestly as the registers of the

voice. Yet on no other topic is there such wide diversity of opinion among theorists and
investigators.

Very little is definitely known regarding the manner in which the subject of registers was treated

by the old Italian masters. Suffice it to say here that the old masters did not refer the registers to
changes in the laryngeal action. They were treated simply as different qualities of tone, each quality
best adapted to be sung only in a portion of the voice's compass.

In the early decades of the nineteenth century the registers of the voice received much attention

from vocal theorists, especially in Paris. Garcia's first published work, Mémoire sur la Voix
humaine, was presented to the Academy of Sciences in 1840. This Mémoire gives the results of
observations which Garcia made on his own pupils; it deals mainly with the position of the larynx
during the singing of tones in the various registers. Garcia describes how the larynx is raised and
lowered in the throat, according to the register in which the tones are produced. He also notes the
position of the tongue and the soft palate.

Widespread interest was awakened by the account of Garcia's laryngoscopic investigations of the

registers, published in 1855. The attention of the great majority of vocalists was at once drawn to
the subject, and the actions of the vocal cords in the different registers were studied by many
prominent physicians and voice specialists. Exhaustive treatises on the registers have since been
published by Mme. Seiler, Behnke, Curwen, Mills, Battaille, Curtis, Holmes, and by a large number
of other investigators.

All the results of the laryngoscopic investigation of the vocal action have been disappointing in the

extreme. In the first place, no two observers have obtained exactly the same results. Writing in
1886, Sir Morell Mackenzie says: "Direct observation with the laryngoscope is, of course, the best
method at our disposal, but that ev...